Éric Weil’s crucial role in André Tosel’s intellectual journey from Althusser to Gramsci

Abstract

André Tosel was one of the great commentators on Gramsci in France and his path towards the theoretical elaboration of the latter was unique. Following the approach of a «restart» of dialectical materialism carried by L. Althusser, Tosel reoriented it under the influence of Gramsci’s thought and his «philosophy of praxis», with a view to a «refoundation» of Marxist philosophy. This reorientation, which is simultaneously an appropriation of Gramsci, took place under the influence of Éric Weil’s reflection, especially on the category of action, which questions Marxism and poses the question of its own understanding as well as its critical value, for the past, the present, and the future.